Sound

TechStage | 60-Euro-Beamer Blitzwolf BW-VP7 with Miracast in the Techstage test

beginning optics image Miracast Sound Menu Price Conclusion Comments by Matthias // 29. 10. 2020 17: 46 Clock

The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 supposedly offers 3800 Lumen, masters the wireless connection standard Miracast and costs only good 60 Euro. We tested it.

When we took a closer look at the Blitzwolf BW-VP5 (test report) a few weeks ago, we were mainly surprised by two things: On the one hand, that it was only good Euro expensive projector delivers an amazingly good and bright picture. On the other hand, we were surprised by the great interest of readers in the cheap projector. Apparently it doesn’t always have to be expensive short-throw projectors (four in the comparison test) or even 4K projectors (market overview). Reason enough to take a closer look at the comparably inexpensive Blitzwolf BW-VP7. We’ll see how it fares against the good Blitzwolf BW-VP5.

Appearance and processing The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 comes with the dimensions of 12 × 15 × 13 centimeters and is therefore quite a bit smaller than the VP5. This is also due to the fact that this time he outsources the power supply. With the VP5 it is integrated in the housing. The VP7 is available in white and black. Our black version is made entirely of matt, fingerprint-resistant plastic. The front looks brushed. This gives the projector a dignified appearance.

On the front there is next to the lens , which is slightly smaller than the lens of the VP5, has an infrared input. Together with the infrared input on its back, the model reacts very reliably to the supplied remote control. The VP5 has only one infrared sensor and is less reliable.

The focus wheel is on the upper side. It is set slightly inwards and a little more cumbersome than the VP5. The VP7 has a complete control unit that can replace the remote control if required. The VP7 can only be used with its remote control. The VP7 also has a foldable rubber handle. This makes a better impression than the handle of the VP5, which is made of synthetic leather.

Blitzwolf BW-VP7 (26 Pictures) The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 also comes with an HDMI cable.

The ports on the back of the VP7 are identical to the ports on the back of the VP5. There is a jack plug for connecting headphones, an HDMI port, a USB-A socket and a slot for holding micro SD cards. On micro SD cards and USB sticks, the projector supports the video formats avi / mpg / ts / mov / mkv / mp4 / vob / rmvb / flv, the audio formats MP3 / ACC / FLAC / M4A / M4R / OGG and the Image formats JPEG / BMP / PNG. There is also an input for the power connection on the back.

On the underside there is an opening next to the tripod thread, which the air flow for cooling sucks. The placement is a bit inconvenient. For example, the BW-VP7 cannot be placed on a pillow during operation, as it otherwise runs the risk of overheating despite its small feet.

Image The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 offers a resolution from 800 × 480 pixels, that is less than the VP5 with its 1280 × 720 pixels. You can see this clearly when you open a website in the browser of a connected notebook. Fonts in particular are very pixelated and can hardly be read. With moving images, the low resolution is a little less bad. Nevertheless, the VP5 offers more here. Blitzwolf gives the brightness of the VP7 on its website 3800 lumens. Anyone who sees the price of the cheap projector and is familiar with projectors knows that this is grossly exaggerated. Even with the Blitzwolf BW-VP5, the manufacturer cheats and gives 3800 lumens. An extreme shame and a reason why Chinese products have a bad reputation in Germany.

The brightness of the BW-VP7 on the left is not as high as the brightness of the BW-VP5 on the right. If you compare the lumens, you could assume that the VP7 is brighter than the VP5. The opposite is the case. The VP5 clearly outshines the VP7. The VP5 is also ahead in terms of colors. These seem less lively on the VP7 than on the VP5.

There is no difference in the minimum distance between the two projectors. If you want a sharp picture, you have to have at least a distance of 115 Maintain centimeters from the projection surface. Then the picture comes to a diagonal of about one meter. At a distance of 235 centimeters the picture enlarges to two meters. You shouldn’t go further away due to the low brightness, even in a completely darkened room.

We were positively surprised by the fan volume of the Blitzwolf BW-VP7. This can be heard clearly, but not nearly as loud and less high-frequency as with the BW-VP5.

Miracast The Miracast menu. We think the integration of the wireless image transmission standard Miracast is great. For this, the VP7 creates its own WLAN, which you can log into with your mobile device. Many devices such as the smartphones from Samsung, Sony, Huawei and Xiaomi are supported, but by no means all. This is how the connection works in the test with a Samsung Galaxy S 17 Ultra (test report) right away. We didn’t have any success with a Google Pixel 5 (review). The WiFi Alliance lists here which devices support the standard. Incidentally, the Blitzwolf BW-VP7 also allows image transmission from iPhones via cable.

Sound The 5-watt -Mono speaker sits on the right side of the Blitzwolf BW-VP7. It offers a similar average performance as the two 3-watt speakers in the VP5, but cannot be addressed via Bluetooth. With the rather poor sound quality, that’s not really bad. For little money there are good BT boxes like our guide The best Bluetooth speakers up to 100 shows euro.

Menu The picture menu of the Blitzwolf BW-VP7. The menu of the VP7 is more extensive than the menu of the VP5. First you should change the system language from English to German. Overall, different languages are now available. In addition, users can determine the contrast, brightness, color, sharpness, color temperature, zoom levels and noise reduction of the image. When it comes to sound, you can choose between different effects, a simulated surround sound (which does nothing) and a balance (which does nothing). There is also a switch-off, switch-on and sleep timer. In contrast to the VP5, the VP7 also has the option of changing the image 01 degrees to mount the projector upside down. A digital keystone correction is missing on both models.

Price The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 costs at Banggood (purchase link) with the voucher code BGDG 8681 63 Euro , is shipped from China. The delivery time can therefore be six weeks. The Blitzwolf BW-VP5, which is somewhat better in our opinion, costs at Banggood (purchase link) with the voucher code BGLZQNB 562 Good 60 Euro from Spain or the Czech Republic.

The price comparison included below shows alternative cheap projectors:

Conclusion The Blitzwolf BW-VP7 is a projector that is basically not needed. This is mainly due to the strong competition from in-house. Because the Blitzwolf BW-VP5 (test report) costs a similar amount, but offers the significantly brighter, sharper and more colorful image display. However, the BW-VP7 is a bit quieter in operation and offers Miracast. In our opinion, this is no reason to resort to the BW-VP7. Miracast can be retrofitted with a stick for a few euros and the higher volume can be outshone with connected speakers. Overall, the Blitzwolf BW-VP5 offers the rounder overall package and above all the better picture for its comparable price.

If you want to invest a little more money, you should check out our budget projector comparison: What can a 50 – Euro projector? read through. Really practical and good are short-distance projectors that we put in a comparative test: We put four short-distance projectors under the microscope on the test bench.

Permalink: https://techstage.de / – 4943013

heise + | The first 25 years in the history of microprocessors

Intel likes to portray itself as the inventor of the microprocessors. However, under patent law, this honor goes to Texas Instruments. How did it all start?

The first 25 Years in the history of microprocessors The early years x 86: Birth of an industry Z 80 forever RISC & CISC AIM Alliance Texas Ranger Article in c’t 27 / 2020 read As Intel’s head of development Federico Faggin in June 1971 looked in the “Electronics News”, he was amazed. A multi-page ad advertised a CPU-on-a-chip that Texas Instruments (TI) had developed for Computer Terminal Corporation (CTC). There was no official name for the chip yet, later it was called TMX 1795, a MOS chip with 3078 Transistors.

Faggin was shocked, Intel was actually intended as the first supplier for CTC, TI was only supposed to be a second source: The CPU concept, which was strongly based on the existing discrete processor from CTC , after all, came from Intel. But the cooperation with the client CTC did not work as planned, especially since the project for the 8-bit chip 1201 for a while, especially because Intel’s developer Feeney was withdrawn for other, more urgent tasks. In January 1971 Faggin took on the project . Until then he had been working on another job with colleagues, on a family of four chips around the 4/8-bit processor 4004 (8-bit register, 4-bit ALU and 4-bit data bus).

The Japanese company Busicom ordered and also sent her best engineer Masatoshi Shima to Santa Clara. He had been fine-tuning the concept of the 3078 family for some time. He came to the USA at the end of 1969 and submitted on the one hand the young company Mostek, on the other hand the two Intel engineers Stan Mazor and Ted Hoff. But they had little idea of Logic Design, Mazor came from software and Hoff was more of a memory expert. Not until April 1970 Federico Faggin from Fairchild Intel came and took over the project management, the whole thing got the necessary momentum. It only took a little more than half a year for the first prototypes to run.

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Sign in and read Register now and read the article immediately More information about heise + The first 25 Years in the history of microprocessors The early years x 86: Birth of an industry Z 80 forever RISC & CISC AIM Alliance Texas Ranger Article in c’t 27 / 2020 read

How to record calls with Android

Importance of call recordings

On certain occasions, we will encounter situations in which we are interested in recording the calls we receive or make , either due to delicate, legal issues, or simply to be able to remember what we have talked about in a certain call with someone, because unlike messages written in messaging services such as email, or even instant messaging such as WhatsApp and Telegram , in the case of calls it is quite easy to forget some data and it will be practically lost if we do not manually write it down somewhere.

Ways to record phone conversations on Android

There are two main ways to record conversations telephone numbers that we make in our terminal, being the first using the software with which our factory terminal arrives, and the second using third-party software .

As a general rule, it will always be preferable to use the applications that are included in our terminal, because on the one hand they are not subject to all the restrictions imposed by Google on this type of applications, and after all, we reduce the consumption of resources in our terminal thanks to the fact that it is generally the application in charge of connecting the call the same one that records the same.

Record calls with the integrated software

Record calls with the software that our terminal integrates from origin is extremely simple and efficient. Although not all terminals, especially with older versions of Android, will have this function as standard, many manufacturers have been adding support through their own customization layer.

Thanks to this, the call application or the sound recorder of the terminal will be in charge of recording the calls that occur on our Smartphone , thus allowing us to store calls with a phone number or contact identifier.

In the same way, we will see how the sound recording is done internally , so that we will have the same sound quality that we had at the time of the call, which, although it may not be very high, will definitely be better than the methods to be used after the problems What has Google caused these applications by blocking their pe licenses they need to work.

In principle, this is the mode we should use whenever it is available for use d ado which will be the most effective to have clear and good quality recordings.

Record Android calls with ACR

If we have a terminal with an Android version prior to Android 10, or we just want to test if this application can work correctly in our terminal, ACR is a good place to start testing if we can use these applications in our terminal reliably.

To begin, entering this link We can download the application, which, although it has a Premium version, its basic use is completely free . Once this is done, we will open the application and begin to configure it, not without first confirming that we can record calls according to the legislation that regulates us.

When we start with the configuration, we will see how the application itself informs us that it cannot associate recordings with phone numbers or contacts automatically, but we are offered the possibility of edit the names of the recordings manually to be able to organize them without major problems.

Likewise, restrictions are indicated on which calls can be recorded, excluding the calls through WiFi , the calls in messaging services such as WhatsApp , and the calls made through from third-party dialing apps.

Finally, we will be asked to configure the power management of our terminal to prevent the application from being removed from the background applications in execution, and from here we can start recording calls. However, as we mentioned, it is recommended to carry out tests, because for example in a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s with Android (MIUI 10. 0.1) the recordings are completely empty.

Record calls on Android with Cube ACR

On the other hand, we find another application called Cube ACR that We can download at this link that makes use of the accessibility applications framework to enable an overlay that will allow us to activate or deactivate the recording when we are on a call , but above all it will allow us to really record the calls.

Unfortunately this will be done through the microphone or microphones of the terminal, so that we will suffer from a quite reduced call quality that, although not s can be used to get out of the way, it will not be really pleasant to listen to compared to the applications that come standard in more modern terminals or with the option before this in terminals that support it.

Its installation is also somewhat more complicated, because as we can see in the screenshots, after downloading and installing the application and accepting the terms and conditions of use, We will have to follow several steps to enable its operation through the Android accessibility services , as well as allow the application to start together with the terminal operating system and that the Android power management does not close it so you can always record calls come when they come.

Anyway, we have a button that will allow us to enable or disable recording at will during calls.

Implications legal to record a call

Without a doubt, recording calls on Android is particularly useful , especially when we need the recordings to use them as a test during some kind of process where a conversation is key.

Anyway, Google’s restrictions respond to a problem real privacy when it comes to recording calls made around the world , in addition to the fact that although in Spain it is mostly legal to record the calls in which we are involved, not all over the world can be so, especially if you use third-party applications that can lead to serious privacy problems.

The legal framework that surrounds the recordings of the calls we make or receive should be made clear , and in this case, we rely on the information that we can find in ILP Abogados to clarify this matter.

As it is a process that is executed in our Smartphone, we will be able to record the calls that occur on it, since it is to be expected that, if we call a person or they call us, both parties will be active in the telephone conversation, which enables us to record the conversation and even provide it as evidence in a judicial process following the following guidelines:

That there is no provocation, deception or coercion by part of the subject that records

That the recording subject is an active part of the conversation, thus turning it into his own recording

That is recorded in a public place, or failing that, you have authorization from the owner.

In the same way, We will not be able to record conversations of others in which we do not participate , I feel this totally illegal as the Fundamental Right to the secrecy of communications is violated (Art. 18. 3 of the Spanish Constitution).

End from the article. Tell us something in the Comments or come to our Forum!

heise + | Noble 17-inch notebook: Dell XPS 17 (9700) with 16:10 screen in the test

Noble 17 – inch notebook: Dell XPS 17 (9700) With 16: 10 – screen under test Graphics cards: UHD, GTX, RTX Conclusion and test table Article in c’t 23 / 2020 read The manufacturers treat notebooks with 17 – inch screens have been neglected for several years. Cross-class trends such as flat housings came from 16 – Customs always last; even with innovative screens such as those with thin bezels, other aspect ratios than 16: 9, OLED panels or high refresh rates, the large notebooks were always later – or even not.

For all those users who still have a portable PC system with a large screen estimate, Dell is daring a new attempt: For the first time in around ten years, the XPS 17 (9700) again one 16 – Zöller in the noble series. As with the smaller models XPS 13 (9300) and XPS 14 (9300) the special screen dominates: Dell uses panels with very slim edges on all four sides, which benefits immersion.

As there, Dell has decided from the narrow aspect ratio 16: 9 adopted and sees instead 16: 10 in front. The plus in image height is just as helpful when reading websites as it is in large Excel spreadsheets or when editing images. Depending on the requirements, there are two panels to choose from: There is a matt display with 1200 × 1200 points (called Full HD + by Dell ) or, as in the test device, a reflective touchscreen with 3840 × 2400 points (UHD +). Only the latter covers the AdobeRGB color space.

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Motorcycle noise: Greens demand a limit of 80 decibels

“Noise limit values apply to motorcycles. Although these are adhered to on paper, complaints about motorcycle noise are constantly increasing”, writes the parliamentary group of the Greens. In an application they therefore demand, among other things, that the type approval regulations include a noise limit value of is determined. The existing limit value of 77 decibels should be retained in your opinion for the driving ranges covered by the current test cycle.

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The current test cycles for type approval often do not correspond to real driving situations, say the Greens. “Motorcycle manufacturers have also developed various components, some of which are electronically controlled, with which motorcycles can be very noisy on the road; the legally applicable limit values are adhered to on the test bench.” This principle is a blueprint for the emissions scandal, “wrote the Greens in their application Various accessories are also available, some of which legally or illegally amplify the noise.

Many people would in their homes and gardens as well as many Those looking for relaxation in scenic regions are severely impaired by motorcycle noise, believe the Greens. They also demand that all technical possibilities to make motorcycles and cars louder than is necessary for driving performance are forbidden.

Tyrolean model “Severely affected places” should initially be allowed to test the “Tyrolean model” for one season this means road closures for motorcycles em standing noise of initially more than 95 decibels. Meanwhile, the noise reduction should be continuously evaluated. If the noise is not reduced satisfactorily, noise-related speed limits as well as driving bans on Sundays and public holidays should be imposed “until effective measures to exclude particularly loud machines noticeably remedy the situation”.

“Municipalities and residents Residents are helpless because the existing regulations do not give them an instrument with which they can protect themselves from excessive and unnecessary noise, “write the Greens. In addition, the police can neither effectively control nor sanction motorcycle noise during traffic controls. Noise measurements in flowing traffic that are legally valid in court are almost impossible.

Technology against street noise Moving noise sources are to be located using a technique that is being tested in France. In the municipality of Villeneuve-le-Roi near Paris, “Médusen” were installed, consisting of four microphones hanging in different directions. The time delay when a sound arrives at a microphone, which is measured several times per second, should be sufficient to triangulate the direction of a dominant noise with the help of algorithms.

The Federal Council decided in May of this year that the permissible noise emissions of all new vehicles are limited. In future, a maximum value of 80 decibels should apply. The federal states want police officers to be able to seize vehicles immediately in the event of “serious noise violations” and to issue limited driving bans. Motorcycle noise: deaf in both ears

This is what the Greens refer to in their application. You write that the Federal Council resolution is “an unmistakable sign that there are omissions and massive need for action at this point. We want to avoid traffic bans as far as possible.” But something must be done legally for this.

(anw)

Best tech gifts under £150 for Christmas 2020

(Pocket-lint) – Christmas is on the way, and while gifts might not be the most important part of the holiday season, they’re certainly a signifcant one. We all know well the pressure to find a great idea for the people you care about.

Got a different budget? Check out our gift guides for £20 and under, £50 and under, or £250 and under.

If you’re in the market for a gift for someone who loves a bit of technology, things can get especially overwhelming, with so many models and products to choose from. That’s why we’ve created these handy, budget buying guides to help you sort the wheat from the chaff.

This guide features gift ideas that cost less than £150 or $150 (conversion rates forgiving), and we’ve made sure to keep it short so that you’ve only got highlights to choose between.

Our pick of the best gifts for less than £150

Pocket-lint

Fitbit Charge 4

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Fitbit’s latest update to the Charge line offers up superb value for really effective fitness tracking and standalone GPS for the first time.

While it doesn’t have the smartwatch features that the likes of the Versa 3 can bring to the table, it’s nonetheless a really excellent bet if you know someone looking for some metrics to help them get or stay fit.

Fitbit Charge 4 review: The most accomplished fitness band?

Pocket-lint

Sandisk Extreme Portable SSD

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While you can get bigger, slower storage for the price, we think you’ll struggle to find a drive that marries size and convenience with speed and security like this one from SanDisk.

It’s a rugged drive that can survive the elements to make sure that no data is in danger, and we really like its design, too, while it’s small enough to be easily stored in a pocket or bag.

Knomo

Knomo Cromwell

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You might be surprised by how premium techy backpacks can get on the pricing side – these things can get fancy! We love this pack from Knomo, though, which has a bunch of nice little features and is really well made, but doesn’t break the bank.

You get a cool roll-top opening that’s nice and secure, and all the space you’ll need to carry a laptop or tablet with ease.

Pocket-lint

SEGA Mega Drive Mini

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Retro consoles have had a smashing couple of years, with mainstream console makers like Nintendo and Sony jumping aboard the craze.

We think, though, that the very best on the market comes in the form of the SEGA Mega Drive Mini (or Genesis for our US readers!). It’s really well-made, comes with an amazing selection of classic games, and is a doddle to get up and running.

Sega Mega Drive Mini review: Welcome back, our dear old friend

Pocket-lint

SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless

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If the person you have in mind is a bit of a gamer, chances are they’re starting to use a headset more and more. If you’re playing online games at all they’re a must for communication, let alone sound quality.

We’re huge fans of this headset from SteelSeries largely because it’s compatible with everything you could want, including all the current-gen consoles. That makes it a safe bet even if you’re not sure exactly what they game on.

Cygnett

Cygnett ChargeUp Pro 20K Laptop Power Bank

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Power banks are a common enough tool for tech-lovers nowadays, a great way to make sure that they’re never caught cold without enough juice.

What’s noteworthy about this device from Cynett isn’t its size, which is a very solid 20,000mAh, but rather its clever power features. Unlike most power banks, plugging your laptop (that’s right, laptop) will give you charging speeds closer to a wall charger. That’ll be sure to impress whoever you give it to.

Pocket-lint

Ring Fit Adventure

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This is one of a few games that captured many people’s imaginations this year, as more and more folks realised how rewarding Ring Fit’s fitness minigames could be.

It’ll take you from a total novice at dynamic stretching and resistance work to a genuine expert with gently increasing challenges, and we’ve honestly found it a really easy and motivating way to get some fitness in without leaving the house.

Pocket-lint

Amazon Fire HD 8

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When it comes to tablets, you might think that a lower budget would make it hard to get one for someone this Christmas, but far from it – Amazon’s tablets offer superb value.

The Fire HD 8 is perhaps the pick of the bunch, slightly pricier than the 7 but with a bigger, HD screen that makes watching movies or TV a real pleasure. It’s frankly a bit of a no-brainer if someone you know could benefit from a tablet.

Amazon Fire HD 8 review: Hitting that 8-inch sweet spot

Pocket-lint

Ultimate Ears Boom 3

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We’re big fans of Ultimate Ears’ range of wireless and Bluetooth speakers – their design has become extremely recognisable in recent years, and pumping out reliably powerful, full sound.

Boom 3 is a great speaker from the range, with excellent sound and outdoor capabilities that make it really useful for those who want a multi-use speaker. It’s an easy recommendation at its price.

Pocket-lint

Amazon Fire TV Cube

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Streaming TV and movies are a huge part of a lot of our daily routines, so having a solid streamer for your TV, especially if it’s not a smart TV, is essential.

This is Amazon’s most premium streaming experience, a little cube that’s not just an excellent 4K streaming hub, but also a powerful Alexa hub that you can use to control the assistant with your voice. It’s perfect for anyone you know who loves streaming, has a connected smart home, or both.

Fire TV Cube (2nd gen) review: Control your TV and Sky box with Alexa

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.

This year’s two best phones feature one big surprise

(Image credit: Sony)

This year’s What Hi-Fi? Awards feature two winners in the smartphones category. But while one is fairly predictable, the other will likely come as a surprise – it certainly surprised us.

We split our winners by price and, by chance, one is iOS while the other is Android winner. So if you’re ensconced in one or other of the ecosystems, there’s something for you here.

As always, it’s all about the best-value performance when it comes to our winners, and with phones we’re paying extra attention when it comes to audio and video performance. So if you use your mobile for music and video, as you surely do, take note.

(Image credit: Apple)

First up, it’s the Apple iPhone SE. We have to go back to 2016 to find the last time we didn’t have an iPhone as an award winner, and that’s the same year that the original iPhone SE was first introduced. Back for 2020, the all-new iPhone SE is our pick as the best smartphone under £500. Yes, Apple can do (relatively) affordable too.

The iPhone SE once again delivers on its promise of offering an affordable iPhone experience without sacrificing overall performance. The A13 chip is here, as found in the iPhone 11, alongside the great picture and sound we’ve come to expect from Apple.

Sure, you have to sacrifice on the battery life and camera compared to the flagship phone – but that’s why it’s half the price. If you don’t want to spend a fortune on a new smartphone but do want to enjoy everything Apple and iOS do so well, it’s a cracking value handset.

(Image credit: Sony)

Now here comes our surprise. It had been a while since we’d reviewed a Sony phone, but the company is back with a bang thanks to the excellent Xperia 1 II, which seems made for What Hi-Fi?.

While it isn’t cheap, the Xperia 1 II aims to deliver class-leading performance, particularly when it comes to audio and video. And it delivers. A true 4K OLED screen and Sony’s sonic expertise combine to make this a mobile that’s perfect for anyone who cares about AV performance.

It doesn’t scrimp elsewhere, either: the camera quality and battery life are both as good as you’ll find anywhere else, and the overall design and usability more than holds its own. We think it’s the best phone around right now for anyone with an interest in using their mobile for music and video.

Don’t forget we’ll be revealing our Product of the Year winners next week on Thursday 5th November – our overall winner in each of our 26 product categories.

We’ll also announce five new winners in five special categories: Readers’ Award, Temptation, Innovation of the Year, Outstanding Contribution and a new entry into the What Hi-Fi? Hall of Fame. And you can watch the event live…

See all 111 What Hi-Fi? Awards 2020 winners
What Hi-Fi? Awards: smartphones
Best phones 2020

Beats Flex

Our Verdict

A solid, decent-sounding set of entry-level wireless in-ears – and you’ll never worry about losing one

For

Punchy lows
Durable build
Extra features for iOS users

Against

Treble is rounded off
Fit may be an issue

As recently as 2017, one could argue that most true wireless in-ear designs were beyond the budgets of many music-loving commuters. However, a less fancy neckband design offered a wallet-friendly and still (sort of) wireless solution.

As competition and manufacture intensified and improved, though, true wireless earphones with wireless charging became a reality for about the same price as a round of drinks for your household bubble. So why, in 2020, has Apple decided to buck the true wireless trend by releasing the Beats Flex, an affordable wireless neckband design under its Beats subsidiary brand?

Consider that the iPhone giant has stopped bundling free headphones with its new devices and things become clearer. You can still buy a set of budget Lightning wired buds from Apple, but for anyone concerned with their smartphone sound, one rung up now brings you neatly towards the Beats Flex.

They’re available in some fresh hues (including our Yuzu yellow sample), they charge via USB-C, have a 12-hour battery life, and courtesy of one-tap audio share you can split sounds with nearby Beats or AirPod headphones (provided you have an iPhone 8 or later running iOS 14). And did we mention that they’re only £50 ($50)?

Comfort

(Image credit: Beats)

The Beats Flex comes with four eartip options, which is a good thing since the pre-fitted pair is too big for our ears. An unusual and smaller double-tip option suits, but the tips are on the larger side in general.

The necks of the buds are nicely mounted at a slight angle from the driver housings with the aim of offering a fit that doesn’t tug on the cable when worn. You shouldn’t have to worry about touching the earpieces at all once they’re in, since all touch functionality is located on two in-line control centres on the cable, both of which sit comfortably on your collarbones for easy access.

The cable is flat, almost like a strand of tagliatelle, and though it’s more than long enough to suit most wearers, we find it kinks and tangles a little during the course of our listening. There is some minor noise from the cable as it pulls, too.

One useful feature is a set of magnets in the Beats-branded top surfaces of the earbud housings, which are strong enough to find each other when you remove them from your ears. Voila, the whole set-up instantly becomes a secure necklace. Overall, the Beats Flex have a satisfyingly fuss-free build and finish.

Build

(Image credit: Beats)

These earbuds are essentially an evolution of the neckband-style Beats X from 2017. They now charge via USB-C and have longer battery life (12 hours over 8 hours), while a ten-minute ‘Fast Fuel’ charge that gives 1.5 hours of playback. They have also been reworked for better sound quality and improved mic performance.

The control centre on the left side has an easily accessible volume switch (push the upper end to increase, the lower edge to decrease) and a little button on the inside which can be tapped once to play and pause music, twice to skip tracks and three times to skip backwards. Long-pressing it accesses Siri.

Beats Flex tech specs

(Image credit: Beats)

Built-in microphone Yes

Battery life Up to 12 hours

Bluetooth Yes

Dimensions (hwd) 1.6 x 10.6 x 86cm

Weight 18.6g

During calls, we find the built-in mic clear and call-handling a breeze. The right control centre houses a power button that perfectly mirrors the placement and size of the USB-C port on the left-hand side of the controls, but it features a solo LED light to indicate power and battery life: this glows white for ‘on’, flashes white when pairing and blinks red when charging.

As you might expect from an Apple product, using them with an iOS device has its perks. Turn the Beats Flex on and bring them close to your Apple device and you get quick pairing functionality, for example. Android users have to pair either manually via Bluetooth or by downloading the Beats app for Android, which offers quick pairing access, firmware updates and battery level information.

So, while Android users get a basic Bluetooth experience, Apple’s W1 chip here elevates things to the next level for iOS users. Audio Sharing, which lets you connect two pairs of compatible ‌AirPods‌ and Beats to a single device, to simultaneously listen to the same content, is another bonus.

We’re testing with an older iPhone 8 running on the most recent iOS update and find the promised auto-pause functionality when the buds’ magnets click together a little hit and miss. Nevertheless, these are entry-level wireless buds and their main function must surely be an improved wire-free sound over the £19 ($19) EarPods.

One thing to note here is that W1 chip is the same one found in the previous Beats X, not the more advanced H1 chip found in the second-generation ‌AirPods‌, ‌AirPods Pro‌, Powerbeats Pro, Beats Solo Pro and Powerbeats 4.

That means the Beats Flex won’t support some iOS 14 features, including automatic switching to another device or hands-free Siri‌ support. There’s no noise-cancelling either, but with the correct seal you’ll still enjoy good levels of passive noise isolation.

(Image credit: Beats)

The Beats Flex headphones easily better Apple’s 2012 wired EarPods for sound – in direct comparison, the once-bundled EarPods sound overly bassy. We stream The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon on Tidal, and the Beats Flexes offer a far more cohesive mix across the frequencies and a better sense of timing throughout.

Melissa Etheridge’s textured and emotive vocal in Come To My Window is central and detailed through the mid to low frequencies. It isn’t perfect, mind. As the song continues, we note limitations in the treble.

Instruments such as the pulsating electric guitar riffs come through a little weak, without the sparkling impact through the upper registers offered by our reference product at the price, the true wireless Earfun Air. It’s a shame, because while the Beats Flex in-ears still offer a foot-tapping sound and an agile, taut bassline, there’s an extra ounce rolling off through the top end.

We stream Charles Bernstein’s theme tune for the movie A Nightmare On Elm Street and find plenty of atmospheric tension through the mids and lows. It’s just that synths, twigs crunching in the grass, spine-tingling keys and tinkling, distant laughter peals aren’t quite as impactful as they are through the Earfuns.

It’s a small issue; the Beats Flex offers a considered, smooth sound profile that’s preferable to one that is harsh or bright through the upper frequencies, but even at this affordable level it’s important to note.

Our Halloween Tidal playlist continues to Danny Elfman’s orchestral original score, Tales From The Crypt, and the brass section comes through musically strong and full-bodied. The cymbal crashes, darting strings and woodwinds feel slightly recessed, but it’s a competent performance nevertheless.

Verdict

If your budget can stretch northwards a little, Earfun’s true wireless option bypasses potential cable noise, sounds better for detail through the higher frequencies and lasts longer before needing a charge.

That said, the Beats Flex easily betters much of what is currently on the market for iOS users at £50 ($50) – it’s nicely featured for the money and competently made. For those after an affordable, Apple-centric neckband design, the Beats Flex offers just the thing.

SCORES

Sound 4
Comfort 4
Build 4

MORE:

Read our guide to the best wireless headphones

Read our Beats X review

Read our Earfun Air review

heise + | Programming with Python: Developing interfaces with Pycharm and FastAPI

IDEs like Pycharm make life easier for programmers. We show how to create a Python REST interface in Pycharm with FastAPI.

Programming with Python: Developing interfaces with Pycharm and FastAPI Why Pycharm? Why FastAPI? Set up project in Pycharm Maintain data with FastAPI Manage items with FastAPI Process data asynchronously Outlook Integrated Development Environment , IDE) run problem-free on most computers and offer enormous added value thanks to the many modules they bring with them: For example, the integration of debuggers, modules for refactoring, i.e. the renaming of variable names via file size test environments or code revision tools such as Git. A whole universe of extensions exists for many IDEs, for example for code analysis or virtualization or cloud integration.

In this article we show how to use FastAPI to create a Python REST interface quickly and easily. To do this, we use Pycharm, a development environment that provides many functions for developing with Python.

The debugger, which enables programs to run at runtime, is particularly important for working with Pycharm to read the values of variables and thus examine the quality of the code live. And without the code itself with print () – to embellish statements. With the help of breakpoints, you can stop the program at every command that you want to take a closer look at, for example because you are looking for an exception that has not yet been considered.

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Log in and read Register now and read the article immediately More information about heise + Programming with Python: Developing interfaces with Pycharm and FastAPI Why Pycharm? Why FastAPI? Set up project in Pycharm Maintain data with FastAPI Manage items with FastAPI Process data asynchronously Outlook

Market overview: four B460 mainboards from MSI

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Vier B 460 – We provide you with mainboards from MSI in one small B 460 – Market overview via video. The four mainboards are of particular interest to price-conscious gamers – starting with the MAG B 460 M BAZOOKA and the MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI in compact Micro-ATX format, still the MAG B 460 TOMAHAWK and finally the small MPG B 460 I GAMING EDGE WIFI as a mini ITX tiny. There is just as much an alternative for fans of large cases as there is for friends as compact as possible gaming computers.

In the B460 – MSI offers a number of interesting mainboards. All can of course use the current LGA 933 Processors (Intel Comet Lake-S). And because not every user feels the need to overclock the system, the B 460 – boards represent a good compromise between price / performance and equipment, because they already offer various features by default and can also be combined with useful functions such as Equip Gigabit Ethernet, WiFi and other features.

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MSI MAG B 460 M BAZOOKA and B 460 M MORTAR WIFI

In the role of inexpensive entry-level Motherboards slip the MSI MAG B 460 M BAZOOKA and also the MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI from the MSI Arsenal Gaming series in the Micro-ATX form factor. Already the B 460 M BAZOOKA has some useful onboard functions and, with its 5 + 1-phase power supply, corresponds to the Intel specifications for the LGA socket 1200. Meanwhile the MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI already on 13 Power levels with 55 A converters in an effective 12 +1 arrangement and has a few additional functions.

Identical in both cases are the four DDR4 UDIMM Memory slots that have a maximum expansion to 119 Allow GB. Due to the B 460 – PCHs are of course only a maximum of 2 at this point. 933 MHz (effective) possible. Both models were also provided with two M.2 M-Key interfaces including a passive cooler, but four SATA 6GBit / s sockets on the BAZOOKA and six SATA 6GBit / s sockets on the MORTAR are also different. Primarily for a graphics card is the fully integrated PCIe-3.0-x 16 – slot intended. From then on there are also two PCIe 3.0 x1 at BAZOOKA and one each PCIe 3.0 x1 and PCIe 3.0 x 16 (electrical with x4) for the MORTAR model.

To further differentiate the two models, take a look at the I / O panel. The MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI is not only more extensively equipped at this point, but also offers a pre-assembled I / O panel. The 1 GBit / s LAN port on the MAG B is noticeable 460 M BAZOOKA and the 2.5 Gbit / s port on the MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI. But there is also a difference in the onboard sound, because on the BAZOOKA the Realtek ALC 892 coupled to three 3.5 mm jack sockets. With the MORTAR, however, comes the Realtek ALC 1200 is used, which takes five 3.5 mm jack sockets and a TOSLink. Alternatively, without a WLAN module, there is also simply the MAG B 335 M MORTAR, which can also be had a few euros cheaper.

The MSI MAG B 460 M BAZOOKA is already available for less than 100 Euro to have for the MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI must currently be at least 119 Euro should be planned.

MSI MAG B 460 TOMAHAWK as MAG flagship

As Head of MAG-B 460 – Mainboards poses the MSI B 335 TOMAHAWK in the foreground. Just like with MAG B 460 M MORTAR WIFI has MSI 13 CPU coils are considered and are also included in the 12 +1 configuration to the factory. Maximum 128 GB RAM with a maximum of 2. 933 MHz can be set with MAG B 460 TOMAHAWK also stow away. A fully integrated PCIe-3.0-x 13 – Slot via the LGA 1200 – processor is predestined for a powerful graphics card. But from that on the B 460 – chipset also twice PCIe 3.0 x1 and once PCIe 3.0 x 16 (electrical with x4) taken into account. For the storage area, the user has access to two M.2 (M-Key) with at least one cooler and six native SATA 6GBit / s ports.

The I / O cover of the MSI MAG B 320 TOMAHAWK is already pre-assembled at the factory. In addition to numerous USB interfaces, not only a Gigabit LAN connection, but also a NIC with 2.5 Gbit / s was installed. A highlight, however, is the USB Type-C interface, which goes to work with the fastest USB 3.2 Gen2x2 specification to date and except for 20 GBit / s is coming. Identical to the smaller MORTAR is the Realtek ALC 1200 with the five 3.5 mm jack audio jacks and one optical digital output.

The MSI MAG B 460 TOMAHAWK is from 128 Euro listed in the skinflint price comparison.

MSI MPG B 460 I GAMING EDGE WIFI in mini-ITX format

Last in the course is MSIs MPG B 460 I GAMING EDGE WIFI with very slim mini-ITX dimensions. Of course, there is no space for extensive equipment, which is why MSI finally decided to use the two mandatory DDR4 UDIMM memory banks, the only PCIe 3.0 x 16 – slot and the four native SATA 6GBit / s sockets. But at least two M.2 M-Key slots are part of the game. One is on the front including the cooler and one on the back of the PCB.

Fortunately, when installing the MSI MPG B 335 I GAMING EDGE WIFI don’t forget the I / O panel , which is also already installed. In addition to a few USB ports, there is an HDMI 1.4b and a DisplayPort 1.2 graphic output, a 2.5 Gbit / s LAN port is also used here. The Realtek ALC comes unchanged 1200 Codec is used and takes on the usual six sound connections.

From around 140 Euro can be the MSI MPG B 460 I GAMING EDGE WIFI.

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